The upcoming H9 combines the best elements of striker-fired pistols and the proven 1911. (Photo: Hudson)

Hudson Mfg. is gearing up to announce their first new product, the American-made Hudson H9. One look says a lot: this handgun does things differently.

The H9 has seven patents to its name, all towards one goal. Hudson wanted to create a striker-fired service pistol with modern features, built around a 1911-style single-action trigger. The result is a modern double-stack service pistol chambered for 9mm Luger with the time-tested ergonomics of a 1911.

There’s a lot of interesting things going on with the H9. It has a very low bore axis and full beavertail grip. That indicates that the H9 will have less felt recoil when shooting rapid strings of fire. That should be easy with a 1911-style trigger set at 4.5 to 5 pounds.

The H9 is interesting enough on paper, we can’t wait to try them in person. (Photo: Hudson)

In order to achieve this low bore axis, Hudson moved the takedown pin and recoil assembly down in front of the trigger guard. This definitely gives the H9 a distinct, futuristic profile.

The trigger is a modular design. It uses a trigger safety like most striker-fired pistols but it can be modified to use a manual safety or safeties. Users can install left- or right-side manual safeties or both for ambidextrous use. The pistol has ambidextrous slide release levers and a reversible mag release, too.

The rest of the on-paper specs look good for the H9. It measures in at 5.2 inches tall and 7.6 inches long with a 4.3-inch barrel. It’s just 1.24 inches wide. That puts the H9 in line with the bulk of mid-size service pistols — big enough to handle most tasks and still concealable.

Compared to alloy-framed handguns it’s weight is average. The pistol weighs 34 ounces unloaded. Standard magazine capacity for the H9 is 15+1, right there with other medium-sized handguns.

The slide is cut with recessed slide serrations front and rear for easy manipulation. Hudson tapped Trijicon to make the factory sights. The rear sight is a plain serrated steel sight while the front is a Trijicon HD night sight. These have a high-visibility red dot with a green tritium insert for shooting in low light.

Recoil Magazine got to spend time with the first version model in person. (Photo: Recoil)

It has interchangeable grips on the sides and the backstrap. They’re machined G10 panels made to match the aggressive serrations on the frontstrap. The grip panels are by VZ Grips and the backstrap panel is by Hogue.

The suggested retail price is $1,147 but until this hits stores we can’t say for sure what it will actually sell for. Real-world pricing for unique and unconventional guns is always unpredictable.

Recoil Magazine recently got a sneak peek of the H9, both prototype models as well as the final production version. Hudson will debut the H9 at this year’s SHOT Show and at the Industry Day at the Range. This is one gun that will get a lot of attention for sure. We’ll be there to shoot it in the flesh. Stay tuned for our SHOT coverage of the H9.

About the author:Max Slowik is a writer with over a dozen years of experience and is a lifelong shooter. He has unwavering support for the Second Amendment and the human right to self-defense. His ambition is to follow Thomas Paine, as a journalist by profession and a propagandist by inclination.

This pistol has a patent application US2016/004613 A1, Published in February 15, 2016, with inventor names: Billie Cyril Hudson and Eugene Cannon Kane. Production piece seems having some different parts staying at detail, but the gun basics seem unchanged, however.

Very detailed patent text and drawings reveal that;

– Pistol is of all steel construction,

– Linear trigger movement feature remains only at twin fake trigger bars acting as a motion güide. Actual trigger bar is a rotationaly acting single sided piece connected to that fake trigger bar. An expensive construction seeming as made as thought for the sake of Colt 1911 type trigger appearance.

– Striker mechanism seems “Short Action Version” of old Le Francais trigger lockwork degraded from double to single action at the “Sear” section only. Trigger connections are much more detailed and complicated.

– Tilting barrel lock seems as borrowed from Smith Wesson. But made in a manner that much more complicated and costy.

– Low barrel axis feature seems as hoped to be supported through a lower recoil spring placement and slide strike location for reducing felt recoil and muzzle rise. However, it seems that it was forgotten the ascended leverage to be loaded on for the slide deformation.

– It seems that the only similarity with Colt 1911 remains at the outside appearance of trigger and magazine catch.

– There it seems rather lots of parts than other striker firers with lots of manufacturing difficulty.

With the aid of high price, which seems as a compulsory for the complicated all steel construction, stating “Will not survive very long” should not be considered as a prediction.

I for one have been looking for a light trigger striker with single action as opposed to the seemingly industry norm of DAO! I have approached several Smith’s to tackle that for my concealment. I agree with a previous author that stated you need both a concealment and a full size. I am not in a position to need a 10 hour carry for work so I can express no opinion there, however, when I am at the ranch that is a full size Sig 357 or my full size Kimber, or my FN 57×28.

This has huge trickle down chariteristics that may make it truly a game changer. A non DAO striker in all sizes!!!!!! This may not be the Gun for me this year but a varient in the future…May Be!
This year I plan on visiting with the new 50 caliber. Just cause!

Gun people are a tough crowd and very apprehensive about anything new or innovative or divergent from the same old accepted “normal” . It will have to be exceptional to break through that bull headed barrier.

Boy are you right! You can see some of that right here among these comments (e.g. “I say it stinks” from someone who knows no more about it that what he has read — SMDH). I can’t remember how many new designs I’ve seen over the past couple of decades that are ALWAYS dismissed by multiple commenters as “the answer to a question no one asked.” I have never seen such a crowd of backward-looking, unimaginative, and rather smug individuals who rather arrogantly assume that what they like or need encompasses everyone else’s tastes and requirements in a firearm. Oftentimes, it looks as if they have an actual DESIRE for new products in the industry to fail. In fact, I don’t doubt for a minute that at least a small number do indeed like to see that — it’s a manifestation of that age-old human pettiness that expresses itself in the desire that people who never accomplished anything have to see others fall. Some people who can’t lift themselves up love to tear other people down; it’s the only way some people can feel good about themselves.

This is a product that, even if it’s not for you — and it might not be — everyone should want to see succeed. It’s made right here in the US, by a company founded by a husband and wife team of entrepreneurs, who happen to be combat veterans who took their combat pay savings and invested it in a dream. These were people who served their country and who, instead of sitting back and doing nothing productive afterward, risked their money to start a company, which will create jobs. And the product they’re bringing out is something other than just another me-too iteration of the 1911, the AR15, or standard Browning tilting barrel, polymer-framed, striker-fired Glock copy. It’s NICE to see something different and a little innovative come along.

As I said, if it’s not for you, fine. No one’s obligated to like it. But if you don’t, keep your yap shut and move on to something you do like. Why the need to put it down? It’s hard enough for new companies to succeed without all the naysayers driving potential customers away. If you have bad experience of a product and want to let other potential buyers know before they waste their money, that’s one thing. But to start knocking a product about which you know nothing is something else, and is a bunch of nonsense IMHO.

I just want to say that I am a gun collector – that shoots everything in my collection. I collect mainly Browning’s designs and other guns of historical importance. My go to 9mm is a Browning Hi Power imported in 1966. But I like the idea of this gun so much that I put my down payment on it unseen. Might take months to get but if I waited to see and hold one I wouldn’t get it this year. With the price of magazines so high ($65 for my Hi Power) I think having three mags coming with it & the steel frame & the 1911 trigger it could be fairly priced much higher. Besides, as a little old lady, that lighter wrist flip might be a big deal for me.

I like Glocks but also like steel frames. Plastics seem to get a bit beat up and there is no real refinishing, just texturing which is basically melting. If you look at it and discount the large front cavity it is pretty nice. It will have to work really good for people to get past the new design and frontal bulk. I am interested in finding out about the rifling and finishing and specific materials. Guess we will see. Yes hats off to Made in America.

I don’t care about attractiveness or lack thereof, a gun fight isn’t a beauty pageant. I really like the low bore axis, but I do not like that this was achieved by taking up the space that would be used for a light or a laser. A laser that close to the bore would be a major improvement!

This might need a modified frame attachment point on the side to replace what would normally be mounted underslung. I think this is a great idea, a good testing prototype, but needs some end user input and thought into improved functionality and testing of these features before it is ready to deploy.

I have a Glock, XD, and 1911 and like them all. I agree the Super Carry Pro is also a real desire of mine, too! But personally, I like the looks of this Hudson. I think it looks cool, but to each his own. I have always been more of a “function before looks” guy. So I would reserve judgement until it has been proven to either be great or bad. As far as weight, well I also have a Kahr CW9, and this is what I actually carry, if not my J-frame or Bulldog. I hardly ever carry my full size pistols, but I’m glad I have them. I think we all need something to fight with, if it were to become necessary, and my XD or Glock would then be with me. But weight can be a good thing too. Not all pistols need to be built for everyday carry. That is 2 different tools you are talking about. For a gun to keep for home defense purposes, this one sounds very good, and the low bore axis and weight could make it a very easy gun to shoot well.

The weight is out of line with other pistols of the same size, a Kimber Super Carry Pro with it’s aluminum frame weights only 28 ounces, whereas this one weighs 34, and six ounces is a lot when carried for 8-12 hours. Other than that issue it looks and sounds pretty cool.

Wow! This really fantastic. No one else makes anything like this! I’ll just click your handy link and go to their website to order this truly unique pistol right away!
Thanks ever so much for the review!

The guide rod and spring are located in that large block in front of the trigger guard which gives it an amazingly low bore access. That is supposedly the innovation that allows it to shoot extremely flat.

John Browning made a striker fired 1911 type pistol prototype, but it was not produced. Service requirements insisted on a visible hammer. Obviously this is not that pistol, but I am definitely intrigued about this Hudson. I see this more of an improved Browning Hi Power then a 1911 and that can’t be a bad thing. I will be keeping my eye open for this one.

The Browning striker fired pistols WERE produced, by FN. According to an article in V70 #3 of “Firearms News” the first three semi-auto pistols Browning designed for FN were striker fired — the Model 1900 (.32 ACP — the first with that cartridge), Model 1903 (9mm Browning Long… hadn’t heard of that one before!), and Model 1910 (caliber not noted, but since it’s a “pocket pistol” I would assume .32). The 1910 was up-sized in 1922 (Model 1910-22), and the article mentions chambering for .32 and 9mm Browning Court (.380 ACP). I would assume the larger framed model was for .380, but just a guess. It is stated that several armiew and police forces in Europe adopted the striker fired designs. Probably for officers to carry and military police, I doubt the small calibers were really intended for general combat use, but that’s just my opinion.

These were all before the Hi-Power, which wasn’t designed by Browning at all, but his successor at FN, Dieudonne Saive. FN had rights to many Browning patents and the HP was an improvement based on his original designs, so they kept his name attached to the new gun, which came out two years after JMB died (came out in 1928). Good article…

I think you will find that the main patent for the Hi Power was applied for by John M Browning before his death. He was asked to design a military side arm in a smaller caliber than the 45 ACP 1911 with more capacity. The FN designer finished the gun and handled production problems but he had worked with John M for years and just saw John’s design / vision to completion.

I also love my 1911, always have and may never change…this looks interesting , that being said I would not pick this hybred up too even look at it at a gun show table..just not something for me,,but for starwars fans go for it …at the price they are after, one would wonder why, what for, and HOW MUCH ??? NO WAY

$1147 ! ! ! That’s more than I paid for my last vehicle! Looks okay, but that’s a purely subjective opinion. Large magazine capacity is offset by weight. Looks okay, and I have no religious or moral objections against striker fired pistols, but it’s one of those sort of guns I’ll pick up, examine, shrug & walk on.

Definitely interested in seeing the range report. I guess I have a broader sense of aesthetics because it looks interesting to me. Whether the price makes sense will be a function of what quality of firearm it is. If it is steel frame and shoots like a match grade pistol then the price is more than reasonable and certainly fits in with the 1911s that are out there in that mold.

In principle, if it really does have a 1911 style trigger – which can be tuned like a 1911 style trigger – and a low bore axis on a steel frame – it is going to be really fast. Particularly if that underlug area has a little weight to it. Likely fast enough to start showing up in IPSC competition and speed steel pretty quickly. Lot of ifs in that though. Everything I’ve read about the Strike 1 is that it has a relatively poor trigger, but it is rare as hens teeth where I am so I haven’t been able to find one to try. So we haven’t really seen those show up on the competition circuit much yet.

Two other things I am curious about – it looks like it might accept 1911 grips and backstraps – that would be a nice feature. Second, as others have mentioned, light short reset trigger with no safety (no I don’t count a Glock style trigger safety) seems questionable. However, in the photo there appears to be a pin or something about where a thumb safety would go. I’ll be curious if something like that is at least an option.

While I’m not completely sold on the weapon (1911s are amazing and will never be replaced as one of the best looking weapons ever made) that beaver tail is there so people like me with big hands don’t get bit by the slide (I’m looking at you Walther PPK!) when using it to dispense freedom. But seriously though, I think that addition was well thought out. I have fired handguns that have drawn blood from my hands before due to there being no protection from the slide. That beaver tail is there for more than just aesthetic purposes.

At 34 ounces its about 9 ounces heavier than a Glock 17, and 10 more than a Glock 19. Thats over half a pound more weight without being loaded. It seems to use some interesting design features. The high grip should prove easy to shoot and in a 9 with that much weight recoil will be extremely light. I guess only time will tell if it will be as great as it has the potential to be. Also with a retail of over $1100 it will never become that common.

Lots of neg comments, why all the whining? Wait for the shooting report. It’s different in many ways and similar in others.
Quit your bitching and appreciate that someone is trying to expand the boundaries of handgun design.

Maybe because it’s ugly as Hell, much heavier than the currently available pistols and the MSRP is 3-4x the price point of the handguns in the same caliber that have already proven themselves to be reliable in any situation .

Seems to be a good gun. Do they plan to put a safety on it? With a 4.5-5 lb trigger pull it’s seems to me that it would be like carrying a single-action pistol, armed, but with the safety off. Unfortunately, a lot of people who buy it will not follow the safety rule of keeping their finger off the trigger until actually firing.

Ooof… This proves you CAN make a 1911 ugly.
Looks like Steyr tried to make a 1911 for Robocop.
There is something off-putting about mating the iconic 1911 grip with that awful muzzle, it hurts my eyes, much like the Ford Ranchero, Chevy El Camino, or a Harley with training wheels.

It looks fugly as hell. If the front end contained a light or laser, I could see that guppy belly but if not, the hype of “the future of handguns is here” is BS. I don’t care how many patents that weapon has, it will be relegated to the annals of history in under 5 years. Ugly and overpriced. The Strike 1 is much more innovative and doesn’t look like the Rosie O’Donnell of the handgun world. You might not have been paid to write the headline but your praise for a gun you’ve never even shot yet is, like most gun scribes, a little too fawning for most people.

Finally. Someone has taken John Browning’s 1908 and done something modern with it. This is a step in the right direction. I’d like to see someone do this in a small platform in 9mm or even 45 ACP, patterned after the 25 ACP model 1908.

Meh, if I want something in 9mm that resembles a 1911, I’ll get a Tokarev – not a huge capacity, but they’re nice and flat and I doubt they weigh much more (and maybe even less) than the Hudson abomination. There’s a new Tok variation out now that has a better safety setup than the ones previously imported. Otherwise, I will take either a Glock (I like my gen-2 G-19: it’s the most reliable and least ammo-picky semi auto I’ve ever fired), or a 1911 if I want a bigger caliber.

I see nothing about looks like glock. Needs the safety and some metal removed from the dust cover of the frame, that would lighten it some. It also should be a polymer frame to lighten it more. Then maybe it could sell for that high end price.

Isn’t this pretty much what SIG has built for years? Only, instead of making sure they are designing their parts to certain parameters to ensure they can have a successful marketing gimmick, they just designed them to work. Now, I’m. It hating on it. It may be a great pistol, I’m just suspect of designing something with functionality taking a backseat to engineering.

Not really. Sigs are really tall and tough to get a high grip on to shoot fast. It takes a different approach then shooting fast with something like an SP-01. Or a 1911 for that matter. Great guns none the less and I’ve competed and have one, but certainly not perfect.

I think they meant a cross between High Point and CZ looks too much like a High Point for me I like CZ but High Point is nothing but junk and I know we’re not talking about High point but just looked at the gun and it looks like it’s over priced. Just my opinion by looking at the picture my opinion could change if I held in my hand and looked at it real close and shot it. Kinda like the Glock’s when they the first hit the market.

What a silly comment.
If you wish to limit yourself, that’s your business.
There are thousands, if not tens of thousands of competent and dangerous (to the bad guys) striker fired carrying Pistoleros out there.
I’m one of them, and I’m damned good with a 1911 too.

Awesome and about time. I’ve always wanted a modern striker fired polymer pistol with the undeniably comfortable ergonomics of a 1911 and a double stack mag! Hope it has second strike capability and no magazine disconnect. The look isn’t bad at all. Reminiscent of the Steyr M9 (great gun, awesome trigger but points like a Glock). Lets hope the price comes down a bunch otherwise I’m going with a CZ P10 ($499) for my 2017 gun.

That’s an opinion not a fact. You ever been on the receiving end of a fight where you had one hand on the weapon and the other hand preoccupied with the bad guy? No, you haven’t obviously. Because if you did you wouldn’t make such a narrow minded, “gun fights happen in wide open spaces where you can put two hands on your weapon” type comment. Sometimes, that second strike capability is all you have and it could save your life. Sometimes it is just a light primer strike. The DA/SA or SA with a hammer gives you the ability to at least try one more time before ditching the weapon and going to hand to hand. With the striker fired weapon WITHOUT a hammer, you are taking that chance away if you hear a click instead of a bang. I like to think of second strike capability as second chance capability. Because that’s exactly what second strike capability offers at that close of range, a second chance before you ditch your weapon.

I guess there is some new territory. Here with the H9 but I thought everyone knew if ya like Glock reliability and durability but prefer the 1911 ergonomics and better trigger you should just check out Springfield XD? The lower bore axis is maybe something. Different than a XD? I’m not over impressed with looks either but maybe its a have to shoot to love pistol kinda like Glock was in early 80’s?

It appears to be an aesthetically pleasing firearm but I fail to see the comparison to the 1911. After dragging the old “walnut cracker” around for years as my service weapon and a familiarity with 9mm handguns, I feel qualified to say that there is no substitute for that big old bumble bee of a .45 round. If it hits you, you stay hit.